This species has occurred on the Murimutu Plains in the North Island. In the South Island it is a common species in the neighbourhood of Christchurch.
The expansion of the wings is 1½ inches. The fore-wings are dark chocolate-brown; there is a short, dark-margined, pale transverse line near the base, and another at about one-third, the claviform spot is small, oval, dark brown, margined with black, the orbicular and reniform are very large, pale brown and very conspicuous; there is a broad pale brown terminal band, and a narrow shading of pale brown along the dorsum. The hind-wings are dark grey and the cilia dull white.
This species can easily be recognised by the pale terminal band of the fore-wings.
The perfect insect appears in March and April.
MELANCHRA HOMOSCIA, Meyr.
(Mamestra homoscia, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xix. 21.)
(Plate [V]., fig. 7; Plate [III]., fig. 10, larva.)|.
This dull-looking species has hitherto only occurred in the Wellington district, where it seems to be fairly common.
The expansion of the wings is about 1⅜ inches. The fore-wings are uniform dark grey; the veins are marked with a series of white dots, preceded and followed by black marks; the orbicular, reniform, and claviform spots are scarcely visible; an indistinct wavy line runs parallel with the termen. The hind-wings are grey; the cilia are white with a cloudy line. The head, thorax, and abdomen are grey.
Sometimes the grey colouring is very much darker, and a faint wavy line is present between the orbicular spot and the base of the wing. In other respects the species does not vary.